RISING 9th GRADE SUMMER READING LIST​

Expectations of Summer Reading

Make brief annotations throughout your book: highlight and label important character descriptions and events, comment on interesting descriptions and your reactions, keep track of possible themes and other patterns you notice.

Your marginalia should include some writing, labeling, defining, response, and reaction – annotation is more than simply highlighting. Jot down keys events and write a brief summary of each chapter at the start/end of the chapter – a few bullet point notes is sufficient.

While annotation is not expected on every page, and it should not be a tedious process, you need to actively engage with the book and write down notes to help you remember your reading when school begins. Aim for a couple of annotations every 3-4 pages and at the end of each chapter.

Note that some extra credit options may be listed, and you will have to complete extra tasks in addition to reading the listed book.

​Three required books:1 from list ONE: "Love, Sacrifice, & Decision Making" ​1 from list TWO: "Works of poetry and novels in verse"1 Non-Fiction Book OR a dramatic work (a play) of your choice​

The Adoration of Jenna Fox Mary Pearson

Who is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago. But what happened before that? Jenna doesn't remember her life. Or does she? And are the memories really hers?

​Set in a near-future America, it takes readers on an unforgettable journey through questions of bio-medical ethics and the nature of humanity.

If You Come Softly Jacqueline Woodson​

Jeremiah feels good inside his own skin. That is, when he's in his own Brooklyn neighborhood. So it's a surprise when he meets Ellie the first week of school. In one frozen moment their eyes lock, and after that they know they fit together--even though she's Jewish and he's black. Their worlds are different, but as they discuss their family lives and their dreams for the future, they delve into issues that will resonate with readers today. This novel was inspired by Romeo and Juliet, and a shocking plot twist highlights the power of a moment that changes everything. ​

The Statistical Probability ofLove at First Sight Jennifer E. Smith​​

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having just missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

You Bring the Distant Near Mitali Perkins ​

Five girls. Three generations. One great American love story. You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture--for better or worse. Ranee, worried that her children are losing their Indian culture; Sonia, wrapped up in a forbidden love affair; Tara, seeking the limelight to hide her true self; Shanti, desperately trying to make peace in the family; Anna, fighting to preserve her Bengali identity--award-winning author Mitali Perkins weaves together a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.​​

​Delirium ​Lauren Oliver​

What if love were a disease? There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the end of the earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it. Then, at last, they found the cure. Now, everything is different. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she'll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. But then, with only ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable.

Cuba 15Nancy Osa​

Being raised American with a Cuban father and Polish mother, Violet Paz had not yet taken any real interest in her heritage, but when her grandmother says that she is throwing Violet a special party for her 15th birthday, Violet begins to ask questions about the significance of the party and other things about her Cuban background.

***II. Works of poetry & novels in verse: Choose ONE***

SwingKwame Alexander with Mary Hess

House ArrestK.A. Holt

Noah and his best friend Walt want to become cool, make the baseball team, and win over Sam, the girl Noah has loved for years. When Noah finds old love letters, Walt hatches a plan to woo Sam. But as Noah's love life and Walt's baseball career begin, the letters alter everything.

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Timothy is on probation. It's a strange word—something that happens to other kids, to delinquents, not to kids like him. And yet, he is under house arrest for the next year. He must check in weekly with a probation officer and a therapist, and keep a journal for an entire year. And mostly, he has to stay out of trouble. But when he must take drastic measures to help his struggling family, staying out of trouble proves more difficult than Timothy ever thought it would be. By turns touching and funny, and always original, House Arrest is a novel in verse about one boy's path to redemption as he navigates life with a sick brother, a grieving mother, and one tough probation officer.​

Formerly Shark Girl Kelly Bingham

UnboundAnn E. Burg

It is now one year after the shark attack resulting in the amputation of Jane's right arm. Now her dream of becoming an artist is in jeopardy, and she finds herself wondering if she is now duty-bound to become a nurse.

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A Maze Me: Poems for GirlsNaomi Shihab Nye

Written for a young female audience, a collection captures the wide array of coming-of-age emotion, drama, angst, and joy through poems dealing with friendship, school, community, love, and family.

This historical novel in verse set during the late 1800’s recounts the journey of runaway slaves who sought sanctuary in the wilds of the Great Dismal Swamp. When nine-year-old Grace is required to work in the kitchen in the Big House, everyone warns her to keep her head down and her thoughts to herself, but the more she learns about the family she is forced to serve, the more she questions. One fateful day, she’s no longer able to bear the pressure. To avoid being separated, she and her family flee into the swamplands and join other escaped slaves who seek refuge on their dangerous way to freedom.​

Out of the Dust Karen Hesse

In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl years of the Depression.

***III. NONFICTION book or a DRAMATIC work (a play): Your Choice ***9th-grade-reading-level-or-abovePlease be sure that this work is one that you have NOT read before.​

***OPTIONAL: Extra Credit Books***In order to earn extra credit for your reading of one or more of these classic novels, you will be required to write a paragraph in response to a question about a key theme.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Little Women by Louisa May AlcottSense and Sensibility by Jane Austen​